Richard Branson Dives Into Personal Submarines With Hawkes

Dreams of off-the-shelf high-speed personal submarines came closer to a reality today when Hawkes Ocean Technologies, the creator of the Super Falcon personal submersible, announced it would team up with Virgin Galactic entrepreneur Richard Branson to build the next-gen winged exploration vessel.

Hawkes has also unveiled a new carbon-fiber winged prototype that will be used, at first, as a pleasure vessel for Branson. Like the Super Falcon, the new Necker Nymph (or Deep Flight Merlin) ferries two passengers and a pilot and carries a high price tag for a ride--$113,000 for a week of water play. Branson will house the underwater aircraft at Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, using its bubble cockpits with wide-angle views to entertain visitors.

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Hawkes says that the next addition to his Deep Flight line, submersibles capable of high speed deep sea travel, will be able to dive down to 35,000 feet. Branson hopes that the next craft, equipped with jet-fighter technology and piloted by a joystick, signals the next step in deep ocean exploration, such as navigating into the depths of the Mariana Trench, the deepest point in the ocean.

The prototype itself racked up a $670,000 builder's fee, but it's worth the cost, according to Hawkes designers. The submersible boasts individual `wind shields' that take away slipstream pressure, allowing the Nymph to have an open cockpit with panoramic views. In addition to luxury transport, Hawkes designed Nymph to be environmentally friendly: Positive buoyancy will keep the craft off of coral reefs, and its low light and noise emissions prevents the sub from disturbing wildlife.